


Freedom,Bittersweet Freedom (Alternate Ending)

by XxQueen_Wanhedaxx



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe-Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Post Season 7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2017-06-15
Packaged: 2018-11-14 09:32:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11205252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxQueen_Wanhedaxx/pseuds/XxQueen_Wanhedaxx
Summary: Mickey lives out his prison sentence, determined to find Gallagher but finds disturbing news instead (Alternate ending)





	Freedom,Bittersweet Freedom (Alternate Ending)

**Author's Note:**

> This was actually supposed to be the original version but I am an angst monster and live off of it and love the way the first one ended so I posted that one as well. I hope you enjoy!

Eight Years Later

Mickey stood outside and looked up to the sky. He was finally free from that prison hellhole. No more schedules, no more having to share space, none of it, and it was so exhilarating. "Mickey!" Mandy says excited, as she runs to hug her brother. She had been waiting for this day with agonizing excitement. Mickey finally looks away from the sky, just as his sister barrels into him hugging him. "Hello to you, too. Gimme a fucking cigarette, bitch," Mickey replies to her. Mandy straightens herself and wraps her arm around her brother's neck handing him a smoke,"You wanna get some McDonald's, douchebag, I'm starving." Mandy says to him. He just looks at her, incredulous, and says, was "Bitch, who the fuck refuses free food?" Mandy just looks at him and laughs as they head off towards her car.

Mickey and Mandy sit in peaceful silence while they eat their food at the rundown McDonald's and Mickey clears his throat nervously, looks at Mandy and says, "So how's, uh, Gallagher? Still dating that artsy fag firefighter?" Mandy looks across the table, kind of sad, with some undertones of anger,"You really want to know who Ian has been fucking, what he's been up to lately like you guys are best fucking friends?" Mandy says, her voice cracking at the end. Mickey looks up from his food and notices that Mandy started crying, "Fuck, Mandy, he's my ex, I don't know what you're crying for. I'm sure whatever he's doing can't be that fucking bad,"he says trying to laugh it off. Mandy starts to hiccup with sobs and tries to start breathing.She knew this was going to be bad but she hadn't thought that it would be this hard to tell her brother the truth about her best friend and the love of both of her and her brother's life. He deserves to know though,so she takes a deep, calming breath and begins to speak albeit shakily, "Mick, he's dead, he killed himself." She looked at him with wide eyes, waiting for any type of sign that he actually heard what she had said. Suddenly, Mickey looked down and just started laughing, and said,"That's a good fucking joke, Mands, really, you should become a comedian." She gave him a moment to let the fries he had just put in his mouth be swallowed as she took a drink and tried again, "Mick, I'm not joking, his meds stopped working and you know how clueless his family is when it doesn't concern themselves, they didn't notice until Ian was sitting in a body bag." Mickey took a deep breath and looked into Mandy's eyes, "Fuck, you're really serious? He really fucking did it! What a fucking dumbass. He said, he said he would wait for--," Mickey's words were cut off by a deep sob, crying for the man who showed him how to love but not how to stop.

Mandy walked over and took her brother into her arms. They sat there for quite some time, Mickey, tears running and daring anyone to say something wrong about it, while Mandy was just there trying to console him. "Why didn't anyone tell me? Why did you wait? All this time, I thought we might have another shot, and he's gone, just like that," Mickey says, willing his eyes to stop tearing and his mind to stop running. Mandy sat in thought for awhile, not sure how to respond. She knew why she hadn't told him while he was in jail, but she wasn't sure how to say it out right, but she was Mandy Milkovich after all, so she just said it, "You were in jail, how would you have reacted, besides, beating the pulp out of someone? Certainly not how you're acting now! Ian wouldn't have wanted to be a reason to have your fucking sentence longer. You deserve to grieve him properly anyway, not beating someone instead of crying. Come on, let's get outta here. We could go to him, I mean if you wanted to, or I can just take you home." Mickey just looks at her, hearing but not quite comprehending. "Come on, Mick, I got you," she says, remembering the way she felt when Debbie called her with the news.

Mickey stared out the window, remembering his tall red headed lover, remembering the time Ian walked into his house with a tire iron, he never would have admitted it then but he probably loved him right there for his balls to step to a Milkovich. Remembering when he came out and told everyone in the vicinity he was a bottom bitch and fucking loved it. He sighs deeply and said in a small voice, "Let's go to him, Mandy, Gallagher and me got shit we need to work out." Even as he said it, Mickey was still unsure of what to say to him.

They arrive at the cemetery and walk for what feels like hours, both silent, both unsure of what to say to the other. Mandy wants to comfort her brother but she knows right now, with his mood, she'll probably just get a titty twister from hell and he'll bolt out of there. Finally, they arrive at the final resting place of Ian Clayton Gallagher, beloved brother, son, and friend and they stop.

Mandy looks down at the cheaply made headstone and places flowers in front of it. She looks as though she's tongue tied as if she can't figure out what she wants to say. She's been here before and said her goodbyes and fuck you's for leaving me. But today, it's not about her, it's about Mickey and his chance to say goodbye. She greets Ian warmly and tells him all her newest updates and then she says softly, "Mick's here, too, so I'm gonna let him talk to you alone. I miss you, Ian. Fuck you for thinking no one would. I love you." She gently squeezed Mickey's shoulder and says, "I'm gonna go to the car. Give you guys some alone time. Don't destroy anything." She kisses his cheek amd walks away, wiping her face.

Mickey watches his sister walk away, not sure what to do. His thoughts are jumbled, words are flying through his head, as he tries to decide what to say. He opens his mouth, multiple times, closing it over and over again, words failing him as they always fucking did. Finally, he takes a breath, thinks of all the other times words failed him when Ian came to him before, and starts simply, "What the fuck, Gallagher? What type of fucked up plan was this? This has to be some type of fucking dream or some shit. I don't know how to deal with this. I knew you wouldn't wait for me, fuck! I hoped, hoped day in and day out, you would, but even if I got out and saw you didn't, I would have been okay, but fuck you for thinking this was the fucking answer to any motherfucking thing. You selfish fucking prick!" He starts to walk away, thinking he's done, he doesn't want to be here at this place anymore. He longed to start the day over and have this never fucking happen. He longs to go back to that day, eight years ago, tell Ian he wasn't crazy, a burden, that he wanted to deal with his crazy shit, but he can't and this is his reality now. "I will always love you, Ian Gallagher. I would have dealt with any form of you I could, if it meant that I could have you. Unmedicated, manic, depressed, medicated, it doesn't fucking matter, it never fucking did. Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you! I fucking love you. Why did you fucking do this?" Mickey has to leave, he can't be here anymore, he can't take this. He turns away from that traitor firecrotch's grave and walks quickly away, rubbing his eyes until he swears they're raw, and walks past his sister, her car, and everything, he just needs to be alone. 

He walks to the abandoned building where Ian and him had spent so much of their time and goes to his alcohol hiding spot and prays to who the fuck ever is listening that the Jack Daniels is there and he surprisingly finds it with a note attached. He looks at the note and his name scrawled in Ian's messy handwriting. He held the note in his hands as he took angry swigs of whiskey, clearly conflicted between opening the letter or getting rid of it. He let it fall out of his hands, grabbed the whiskey and left the building without looking back. Fuck Gallagher, he didn't want to know his last words, they were probably hateful anyways. He walks back to the old Milkovich address and stormed up the steps to his room where he drank himself into oblivion trying to forget the fiery red hair and green eyes that he loved so much.

The next day, he woke up surprisingly without a hangover, and extra crowded. 'Who the fuck is in my bed?' Not one to play games of any kind, he shoved the person and said, "The fuck you doing in my bed, asshole?" The person didn't respond, just reached and pulled the blanket up more over them. 'What the fuck?' Mickey thought. He began pushing at the person and gasped as the blanket fell away and he saw that fiery red hair that he loved so much. "Mick, what the fuck are you shoving me for?" Ian asked sleepily, not noticing that he was being open mouth gaped at. Mickey composed himself and looked at Ian,"The fuck are you doing here? You're supposed to be dead." It was Ian's turn to look at Mickey like he had an extra head, "What the hell are you talking about?" Mickey looked at him and debated telling him about the real world, fully indulging in this dream? or trying to figure what the fuck his mind was pulling. Mickey hopped on the bed and looked intensely at Ian. "Mick, I'm supposed to be the crazy one, remember, I am the bipolar one. What happened? You're acting weird as fuck." "I guess I had a weird dream, where I was in jail for attempted murder, you were a dick, we broke up, you moved on to some faggot firefighter, you guys broke up and you killed yourself," Mickey says, looking at Ian, to shed any light on the things he said. Ian just looks at him and laughs, "The fuck type of drugs did you take last night, Mick? I might be bipolar, but I wouldn't kill myself, and I tried breaking up with you once, but you couldn't let my fine ass go. More like I wasn't willing to let go of you. As for faggot firefighters, I am one, so take that back.You must be watching too many prison shows because you haven't been to prison so I really just don't know what the fuck you're talking about, but I'm really here." Mickey looked as if he was deciding to believe him or not so Ian went over to him and pulled on his hair to bring his lips to him. "See, fuckhead, I'm real, there's nothing to worry about. It was just a fucked up dream. However, we have to get ready for work, so shake it off." Mickey looked appeased, Ian's kiss wiping away his doubt. He grabbed Ian's face for one more kiss and grabbed a towel, "Take a shower with me, let's save some water," Mickey said flirtatiously, knowing his intentions had nothing to do with saving water and everything to do with wanting his boyfriend.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to talk to me on Tumblr: toxically-intoxicated-queen.tumblr.com Feel free to leave your thoughts!


End file.
